Missouri safety Marvin Burks was the team's highest-rated prospect from the class of 2023 and he had a productive freshman season that saw him record 16 tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and a forced fumble in 130 snaps across 13 games.
That was in a backup role behind Jaylon Carlies and Tre'Vez Johnson. Now, Carlies is in the NFL and Johnson is who Burks is battling for the starting free safety role.
Burks has gone from a blue-chip prospect to someone the team expects a lot from whether he wins the starting job or not.
Johnson didn't start all but two games last year but he still had 445 snaps. Compare that to starters Carlies (687), Joe Charleston (556) and Daylan Carnell (677) and that's still a healthy role for the No. 4 safety. Plus, each safety has to learn all of the safety positions. So, that breeds more opportunities for players coming from the bench to play.
Last year, Burks approached the season as a year to download information. This year, it's more about applying what he's learned and will learn throughout the season and then help other players do the same.
After a year in the system and making the steep transition from high school to the Southeastern Conference, Burks feels more confident.
"Last year, just first coming in, I was really just trying to learn," Burks said. "Now, I feel like this year, having a whole year under my belt, I'm really trying to install and just let guys know the information I've got, learned over the year and just installed into the other guys coming to the room."
In addition to that, Burks put on some weight this offseason, got more knowledgeable about the game and has been using fall camp to try to get the best version of himself out every day. Something he said is made easy by playing against, perhaps the deepest position group on the team, the wide receiver room.
"Coming in as a freshman, like I said, I was just trying to learn, not trying to make mistakes," Burks said. "Now, I'm more challenging myself, going out there and challenging routes and challenging receivers, just trying to get the most game day reps from NWO (the wide receiver room) because those guys have great receivers, so I'm just every day trying to compete and get better with those guys."
Let Johnson tell it, he believes the safety group “hasn’t lost a step.”
Johnson, who is typically reserved and soft-spoken, also believes Burks has improved greatly and can't wait for him and the rest of the defense to be able to show the work they've been putting in.
"He's ready to go. He's going to get in there, embrace his role and do his job and I'm excited," Johnson said. "He's definitely coming along. Everybody on the team I've seen make growth since I've got here and I've only been here for a year. So like I said, I'm excited to see what we do."
Burks isn't just going to be limited to the defense. He's in a position battle with Mookie Cooper, Joshua Manning, Jamal Roberts, Speedy Johnson and Tre'Vez for one of the kick return roles.
Outside of Speedy, Burks is the only returning Mizzou player who returned multiple kickoffs in 2023 with four for an average of 18.5 yards per return.
Tre'Vez returned one for 20 yards.
Another safety who has made plays in camp is walk-on Caleb Flagg, formerly of Houston Christian.
He's been garnering a lot of buzz since spring ball for recording several interceptions in the spring, including one in the Black & Gold Spring Game which led to Defensive MVP honors. In fall camp, he's been spotted working with the second team and has continued to impress his teammates and coaches.
Burks said it didn’t take long for him to know Flagg is the real deal.
"I truly feel like it was no surprise (how well Flagg is doing). When he first came in, I believed he was a great player," Burks said. "He brings a lot of versatility, a lot of excitement. We call it fire starters. And I feel like he's one of those guys that's a fire starter on our defense.
"Every time he gets to step on the field. I love to compete. He loves to compete. We go out there and compete every day, just letting each other know it's positive competitiveness. We also congratulate each other every day. So, that is something that we always do."
Missouri's safety room is one of the team's deepest positions with at least seven players being seriously considered for the rotation.
Something that is becoming clearer each week is that Mizzou has plenty of depth. Last week, head coach Eli Drinkwitz said in his presser last week that he feels good about his two deep at each position.
That's a great thing for Mizzou fans because winning teams who compete for conference titles and beyond usually have more than 22 players who can do the job. If that's the case at every position and not just safety, Mizzou is preparing for a huge season.
The Tigers finish up fall camp on Saturday with an open practice at Faurot Field before turning their attention to Murray State for the teams' Aug. 29 Week 1 game.
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